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Darth Vader
Darth Vader, born as Anakin Skywalker is a fictional character in the Star Wars '' franchise. He was a powerful Jedi Knight turned Sith Lord. The character was originally a Jedi prophesied to bring balance to the Force, he falls to the dark side of the Force and serves the evil Galactic Empire at the right hand of his Sith master, Emperor Palpatine (also known as Darth Sidious). He is also the father of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa. Vader was the main, later secondary antagonist of the original trilogy, serving as one of the two main antagonists of ''A New Hope (the other being Grand Moff Tarkin), the main antagonist of The Empire Strikes Back and the secondary antagonist of Return of The Jedi, where he redeems himself in the end, and the protagonist of the prequel trilogy which shows us how he became evil. He was also the protagonist of the 2008 film Star Wars: The Clones Wars and it's TV series, one of the secondary antagonists of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (with Tarkin) and a supporting antagonist in the series Star Wars Rebels. The American Film Institute listed him as the third greatest movie villain in cinema history on 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains, behind Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates.. Portrayals In the original trilogy, he was portrayed by bodybuilder David Prowse and by stunt performer Bob Anderson during the character's intenselightsaber fight scenes while James Earl Jones provided Vader's voice. The unmasked Anakin Skywalker in Return of the Jedi was portrayed by Sebastian Shaw. In the prequel trilogy, he was played by Jake Lloyd as a kid in The Phantom Menace, and Hayden Christensen as an adult in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. The character has also been voiced by Matt Lanter in the film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and it's later animated TV series. James Earl Jones reprised the role of Vader's voice in Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One and Star Wars Rebels. The character has also been voiced by Scott Lawrence and Matt Sloan for several video games. History (In chorological order) ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' Anakin Skywalker appears as a nine-year-old slave. Raised on the planet Tatooine by his mother Shmi, Anakin supposly had no father, implying miraculous birth. He is a gifted pilot and engineer and has the ability to "see things before they happen". He even creates his own protocol droid, C-3PO. One day, a Jedi Master named Qui-Gon Jinn meets him after an emergency landing on Tatooine. After discovering that Anakin's blood has an unusually high number of midi-chlorians (a measure of Force potential), Qui-Gon becomes convinced the boy is the "Chosen One" of Jedi prophecy who will bring balance to the Force. Anakin wins his freedom in a podrace, but is forced to part with his mother. Qui-Gon takes Anakin to the Jedi Council and asks permission to train him, but they are concerned by the fear Anakin exhibits and decline the request. During the film, Anakin forms a close bond with a girl anmed Padmé Amidala, the young queen of Naboo. During the invasion of Naboo, Anakin helps defeat the corrupt Trade Federation by destroying their command ship with the help of a droid named R2-D2. After Qui-Gon is killed by a Sith Lord named Darth Maul, his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi promises to train Anakin, a proposal the Jedi Council reluctantly accepts. Palpatine, the Galactic Republic's newly elected Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, befriends the boy, promising to "watch your career with great interest". ''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones'' Ten years later, Anakin is depicted as the apprentice of Obi-Wan. Chancellor Palpatine assigns Anakin and Obi-Wan to investigate an assassination attempt made on Padmé. Anakin travels with Padme to Naboo, where they fall in love. Anakin has a vision of his mother in pain and goes to Tatooine, where he reunites with C-3PO and learns that Shim had been kidnapped by Tusken Raiders. He goes to the Tusken camp, where he finds his mother, tortured beyond saving; she dies in his arms. Overcome with rage, Anakin kills the entire tribe. After he returns with his mother's body, he confesses his crime to Padmé, who comforts him. Soon after, Anakin, Padmé, C-3PO and R2-D2 travel to Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan from a Sith Lord named Count Dooku, who was once a jedi and Qui-Gon's old Jedi master, but they are instead captured and sentenced to death. Padmé confess to Anakin that she loves him moments before being rescued by an army of clone troopers and Jedi. Anakin and Obi-Wan then enter a lightsaber duel with Dooku, where Anakin loses his right arm. Before Dooku can finish them off, his old jedi master, Yoda, the grand master of the jedi order, saves them, while Dooku escapes. Later Anakin's arm is replaced with a prosthetic. At the end of the film, Anakin and Padmé marry on Naboo. ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' Movie and Series During the clone wars, Anakin, who is now a Jedi Knight, takes on a Padawan named Ahsoka Tano at Yoda's request The two of them have many adventures (some with Obi-Wan and some with R2-D2), such as saving Jabba the Hutt's son from the Separatists. The responsibility of a Padawan helped Anakin become a better leader and a wiser man. This series also includes a scene in which Anakin sees a cryptic vision of his future as Darth Vader. At one point, Ahsoka is framed for crimes againist the jedi order. Anakin manages to capture the person who set her up, but Ahsoka leaves the order, much to his dismay. ''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'' Near the end of the war, Anakin is a Jedi Knight and hero of the Clone Wars. He, R2-D2 and Obi-Wan lead a mission to rescue Supreme Chancellor Palpatine after he is kidnapped by Dooku General Grievous. During the rescue, Anakin defeats Count Dooku in a lightsaber duel and decapitates him in cold blood on Palpatine's orders. When he returns to Coruscant, he meets with Padme, who reveals that she is pregnant with his child. That night, he has a vision of Padmé dying in childbirth; he fears it will come true, as it is similar to visions he had before his mother died. Meanwhile, Palpatine names Anakin his representative on the Jedi Council; the Council refuses to give Anakin the rank of Jedi Master, however, shaking his faith in the Jedi. Palpatine eventually reveals to Anakin that he is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, the mastermind of the war, and the sith master of Dooku and Maul, and that the dark side holds the power to save Padmé's life. Conflicted, Anakin reports Palpatine to Jedi Master Mace Windu. Despite orders to remain behind, Anakin follows Windu to the Chancellor's office to ensure Palpatine is captured alive. He walks in on Windu ready to kill Palpatine and intervenes on the Sith Lord's behalf, severing Windu's lightsaber arm; Palpatine then kills Windu with a blast of Force lightning. Desperate to save his wife, Anakin pledges himself to the dark side and becomes Palpatine's Sith apprentice, Darth Vader. On Palpatine's order, Anakin/Vader leads a squadron of clone troopers to kill everyone in the Jedi Temple during the Great Jedi Purge, and then assassinates the Separatist leaders on Mustafar. There, Anakin/Vader meets with Padmé, who begs him to flee with her. He refuses, saying that the two of them can overthrow Palpatine and rule the galaxy. When Obi-Wan emerges from Padmé's ship, Anakin/Vader accuses Padmé of betraying him and uses the Force to choke her into unconsciousness. Anakin/Vader then battles Obi-Wan in a lightsaber duel which ends when Obi-Wan severs his remaining organic limbs. Anakin/Vader then slides too close to a lava flow and bursts into flame. Obi-Wan takes his lightsaber and leaves him to die. However, Palpatine finds Vader and has his apprentice's ruined body reconstructed with the cybernetic limbs and the black armor seen in the original trilogy. When Anakin/Vader, who from this point on we'll just call Vader, regains consciousness, Palpatine informs him that Padmé died as a result of his anger, and Vader destroys the medical droids and screams "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" in a fit of despair. Vader is last seen alongside Palpatine and a young Grand Moff Tarkin viewing the first Death Star's construction. However unknown to Vader, right before Padme died, she gave birth to two children, Luke and Leia, who would later bring down the empire and redeem their father. ''Star Wars: Rebels'' Set some years after Anakin's finished transformation into Darth Vader, he hires an Inquisitor to hunt down the remaining Jedi across the galaxy. ''Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' At one point, Vader discussed with Orson Krennic about The Death Star, and about the priority to destroy the rebels. He informed that Tarkin is controling the weapon, and as Orson asked if he can be incharge, Darth Vader choked him with force powers, and left him behind to suffer. Darth Vader was later ordered by Tarkin to find the recently stolen plans that could destroy the death star. He managed to kill most soldiers onboard, but one soldier escaped him, and managed to hand the plans to his daughter Leia. ''Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'' Along with Grand Moff Tarkin, Vader is sent to recover the stolen plans. He captures Leia, demands she tell the plans, and stands by while Tarkin destroys her home planet of Alderaan with the Death Star's superlaser. When Obi-Wan arrives on the death star, with Vader's son Luke, his old driods, C-3PO and R2-D2 and a smuggler named Han Solo and his wookie friend Chewbacca to save Leia the princess, Vader fights Obi-Wan in a lightsaber duel and kills his former master. During the film's climactic battle scene, Vader leads a squadron of TIE fighters and destroys several Rebel fighters. Vader pursues Luke's X-Wing fighter, but a surprise attack from Han and Chewie in their ship the Millennium Falcon clips him and sends him flying into deep space. ''Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back'' Three years later, Darth Vader leads an Imperial starfleet in pursuit of the Rebels. He leads an invasion of the Rebel base on Hoth, but Luke and his friends escape escape. Palpatine then calls Vader and tells him that Luke has become a threat to the Empire (in the extended cut, he also confirms that Luke is Vader's son), and he must not become a Jedi. Vader persuades the Emperor that Luke would be a great asset if turned to the dark side of the Force. Vader captures Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO on Cloud City and uses them as bait for Luke. He has Han tortured, frozen in carbonite and gives him to a bounty hunter named Boba Fett, but Leia, Chewbacca and the droids escape thanks to Cloud City's ruler Lando Calrissian. Vader engages Luke in a lightsaber duel, which ends when Vader cuts off Luke's right hand and reveals that he is Luke's father; he then entreats Luke to turn to the dark side so they can "rule the galaxy as father and son". Horrified, Luke throws himself into Cloud City's reactor core and ultimately escapes aboard the Millennium Falcon. Onboard his Star Destroyer, Vader telepathically tells Luke that it is his destiny to join the dark side.. ''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'' One year later, Darth Vader arrives aboard the half-constructed second Death Star. He intimidates the battle station's commander, Moff Jerjerrod, into stepping up construction. Palpatine arrives, he assures Vader that the two of them will turn Luke to the dark side. Luke surrenders himself to Vader in the hope that he can turn his father back "to the light side". Vader brings Luke onto the Death Star, where Palpatine tries to seduce Luke to the dark side. A lightsaber duel erupts between Luke and Vader, during which Vader learns Leia is Luke's twin sister and his daughter. He then plans to turn her to the dark side if Luke will not submit. Enraged, Luke attacks and overpowers Vader, severing his mechanical right hand. Palpatine then commands Luke to kill Vader and take his place. Realizing he is close to suffering his father's fate, Luke refuses. Enraged, Palpatine zaps Luke with Force lightning. Vader stares at his master torturing his son in horror. The sight of Luke's agony is too much for Vader, and he begins to remember his past life. Finally unable to see his son in so much pain, Vader realizes that despite all the terrible things he had done in his life, he couldn't let his son die, and finally becomes Anakin Skywalker again. He then picks up Palpatine, carries him away from Luke and throws him former master down the Death Star's reactor shaft, redeeming himself and ending Palpatine's rule over the glaxy once and for all. In the process, however, he is mortally wounded as Palpatine injected some of his lightning into his body. Redeemed, Anakin asks Luke to remove his helmet so he can look at Luke with his own eyes just once. With his dying breath, he tells his son that there was good left in him after all and then dies. Luke escapes the Death Star with his father's corpse, which he later ceremonially burns in a funeral pyre. As the Rebels celebrate the destruction of the Death Star and the fall of the Empire, Luke sees his father's spirit, standing alongside the spirits of Obi-Wan and Yoda. ''Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens'' In this film, set 30 years later, Anakin's grandson Kylo Ren takes Lord Vader's burned mask and rebuilds it, saying, "Nothing will stand in our way. I will finish what you started." Literature Darth Vader appears numerous times in comic books such as Dark Horse Comics's Star Wars Tales and Marvel Comics' Star Wars series (1977–1986). In James Luceno's Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (2005), set a few months after the events of Revenge of the Sith, Vader disavows his Anakin identity as he systematically pursues and kills the surviving Jedi and cements his position in the Empire. The novel also reveals that Vader plans to eventually overthrow Palpatine, and that he betrayed the Jedi because he resented their supposed failure to recognize his power. Vader's Quest (1999) depicts Vader hiring a bounty hunter to bring him information about the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, ultimately meeting Luke for the first time. In the novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1978), Vader and Luke duel for the first time, and Luke cuts off Vader's right arm. Shadows of the Empire (1996) reveals that Vader is conflicted about trying to turn his son to the dark side of the Force, and knows deep down that there is still some good in him. Anakin's redeemed spirit appears in The Truce at Bakura (1993), set a few days after the end of Return of the Jedi. He appears to Leia, imploring her forgiveness. Leia condemns him for his crimes and banishes him from her life. He promises that he will be there for her when she needs him, and disappears. In Tatooine Ghost (2003), Leia learns to forgive her father after learning about his childhood as a slave and his mother's traumatic death. In The Unifying Force (2003), Anakin tells his grandson Jacen Solo to "stand firm" in his battle with the Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong. In The Dark Nest trilogy (2005), Luke and Leia uncover old recordings of their parents in R2-D2's memory drive; for the first time, they see their own birth and their mother's death, as well as their father's corruption to the dark side. In Bloodlines (2006), Jacen—who has himself turned to the dark side—uses the Force to "watch" Anakin slaughter the children at the Jedi Temple. Video games Darth Vader plays a central role in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008). He is a playable character in the first level of the game, where he and his armies invade Kashyyyk to hunt down a Jedi who had survived the Order's destruction. Vader kills the Jedi and kidnaps the man's young Force-sensitive son, whom he raises as his secret apprentice. Vader sends Starkiller (the game's protagonist) on various missions throughout the galaxy, with an ultimate goal to assassinate Palpatine so that Vader can rule the galaxy himself. Toward the end of the game, however, it is revealed that Vader isn't planning to overthrow Palpatine at all; he is merely using his apprentice to expose the Empire's enemies. At the game's climax, the player chooses between attacking Palpatine to help his Rebel friends escape the Death Star or killing Vader to become the Emperor's new apprentice. He also appears in the sequel Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II as the main antagonist and final boss. Vader is also a playable character in the video games Lego Star Wars: The Video Game, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Soulcalibur IV, Star Wars: Battlefront II, Star Wars: Empire at War, Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption and Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. He also is an active but non-playable character in''Star Wars Galaxies'', Star Wars: Battlefront, (as an evil pig) is a non-playable character in Angry Birds Star Wars and is a playable character in Angry Birds Star Wars II. Anakin Skywalker is a playable character in the video games Star Wars: Battlefront II, Lego Star Wars: The Video Game, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Lightsaber Duels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Jedi Alliance, Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Republic Heroes and is featured (as an Angry Bird) in''Angry Birds Star Wars II''. Characteristics In Attack of the Clones, Anakin Skywalker feels "smothered" by Obi-Wan Kenobi and is unable to control his life. By Revenge of the Sith, however, his "father-son" friction with his master has matured into a more equal, brotherly relationship. Once he becomes Darth Vader, each evil act he commits makes it harder for him to return to the light, but ultimately escapes the dark side and redeems himself before he dies by saving his son Luke Skywalker and killing Palpatine in Return of the Jedi. Eric Bui, a psychiatrist at University of Toulouse Hospital, argued at the 2007 American Psychiatric Association convention that Anakin meets six of the nine diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD), one more than necessary for a diagnosis. He and a colleague, Rachel Rodgers, published their findings in a 2010 letter to the editor of the journal Psychiatry Research. Bui says he found Anakin Skywalker a useful example to explain BPD to medical students. In particular, Bui points to Anakin's abandonment issues and uncertainty over his identity. Anakin's mass murders of the Tusken Raiders in Attack of the Clones and the young Jedi in Revenge of the Sith count as two dissociative episodes, fulfilling another criterion. Bui hoped his paper would help raise awareness of the disorder, especially among teens. Cultural impact The Darth Vader Grotesquesculpted into the Washington National Cathedral Darth Vader's iconic status has made the character a synonym for evil in popular culture; psychiatrists have even considered him as a useful example to explain borderline personality disorder to medical students. Anakin's origin story in The Phantom Menace has been compared to signifiers of African American racial identity, and his dissatisfaction with his life has been compared to Siddartha's before he became Gautama Buddha. A Mexican church advised Christians against seeing The Phantom Menace because it portrays Anakin as a Christ figure. A slime-mold beetle of the genus''Agathidium'' is named after Vader, and several buildings across the globe are regularly compared to him. A grotesque of Darth Vader looms over the east face of the Washington National Cathedral's northwest tower. During the 2007–08 NHL season, Ottawa Senators goaltender Martin Gerber performed so well in an all-black mask that fans endearingly termed him "Darth Gerber". Many commentators and comedians have also evoked his visage to satirize politicians and other public figures, and several American political figures have been unflatteringly compared to the character, including General George Custer, the subject of an acrylic painting titled "Darth Custer" by Native American artist Bunky Echohawk. In 2005, Al Gore referred to Tele-Communications Inc.'s John C. Malone as the "Darth Vader of cable", and political strategist Lee Atwater was known by his political enemies as "the Darth Vader of the Republican Party". On June 22, 2006, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney referred to himself as the Darth Vader of the Bush administration. Discussing the administration's philosophy on gathering intelligence, he said to CNN's John King, "It means we need to be able to go after and capture or kill those people who are trying to kill Americans. That's not a pleasant business. It's a very serious business. And I suppose, sometimes, people look at my demeanor and say, 'Well, he's the Darth Vader of the administration.'" Jon Stewart put on a Darth Vader helmet to address Dick Cheney as a "kindred spirit" on The Daily Show on January 25, 2007. Cheney's wife, Lynne, presented Stewart with a Darth Vader action figure on her appearance on the show on October 10, 2007. Both Stewart and Stephen Colbert have occasionally referred to Cheney as "Darth Cheney". In thesatirical cartoon show Lil' Bush, Dick Cheney's father is portrayed as being Darth Vader. At her presidential campaign event on September 19, 2007, Hillary Rodham Clinton also referred to Cheney as Darth Vader. At the 2008 Washington Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner, Cheney joked that his wife Lynne told him that the Vader comparison "humanizes" him. George Lucas told The New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, however, that Cheney is more akin to Emperor Palpatine, and that a better stand-in for Vader would be George W. Bush. An issue of Newsweek referenced this quote, and compared Bush and Cheney to Vader and Palpatine, respectively, in a satirical article comparing politicians to various Star Wars and Star Trek characters. Many films and television series have paid homage to Darth Vader. Marty McFly in Back to the Future (1985), dressed in aradiation suit, calls himself "Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan" to convince the past version of his father to ask his mother to a dance. Rick Moranis plays "Dark Helmet" in the Star Wars parody Spaceballs (1987). In Chasing Amy (1997), Hooper X speaks at a comic convention about Darth Vader being a metaphor for how poorly the science fiction genre treats black people; he is especially offended that Vader, the "blackest brother in the galaxy", reveals himself to be a "feeble, crusty old white man" at the end of Return of the Jedi. The character has gained much positive reception as a classic film villain. Darth Vader ranked number two on Empire''magazine's 2008 list of ''The 100 Greatest Movie Characters. Premiere magazine also ranked Vader on their list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. On their list of the 100 Greatest Fictional Characters, Fandomania.com ranked Vader at number 6. Darth Vader was also the #1 supervillain on the Bravo series Ultimate Super Heroes, Vixens and Villains. Darth Vader was also ranked as #1 in IGN's list of top 100 Star Wars characters. Furthermore, Darth Vader's quote in The Empire Strikes Back — "No, I am your father" (often misquoted as "Luke, I am your father"), — is one of the most well known quotes in cinema history. The line was selected as one of the 400 nominees for the American Film Institute's''100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes'', a list of the greatest American movie quotes. Vader received the Ultimate Villain recognition at the 2011 Scream Awards. In 2010, IGN ranked Darth Vader 25th in the "Top 100 Videogames Villains". In Ukraine the Internet Party of Ukraine regularly lets people named Darth Vader take part in elections. Gallery FilE:SWEMP19-FC.jpg|Concept Art of Darth Vader. 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